Monday, September 30, 2019, Taiji (Japan):

The eighth catch of the season took place today in one of the most difficult hunts for hunters.
Around 8:30 am, two separate groups of Risso dolphins were turned towards the bay.
After about an hour, one group managed to escape. Then 4 hours later, the second group continued to resist the hunters who, frustrated, then decided to capture at sea by enclosing them with nets.
Shortly after, several trainers came in boats to inspect the dolphins.
All were placed in restraining slings hidden by tarpaulins.
The 7 Risso dolphins left in the enclosure were taken to "Moriura Bay" (sea pens located in Taji).

The hunters stopped en route to retrieve and transfer to a boat a dolphin that had emerged from the restraining sling and entered the bay.
The remaining 6 bottlenose dolphins were transferred to pens, 1 Risso's dolphin died during the selection process.

Ric O'Barry's Dolphin Project's Cove Monitors follow live and document hunts on adaily basis.

Terrifying catch numbers for the 2018/2019 season:
• 1166 * dolphins (VS 902 * in the previous season) of 7 different species were caught during this season;
• 556 (VS 652 in the previous season) were killed for food consumption;
• 241 were caught to meet the demand for dolphinariums, which is 135 dolphins of pls than last year!

The numbers speak for themselves: if the demand for dolphin meat for food consumption is declining, the demand for dolphinarium supplies is increasing!
It is indeed the captive industry - with its growing demand for "fresh dolphins" - that feeds these killings and allows them to exist. By funding this practice, the captive industry is taking advantage of the hunt to select individuals for export to local dolphinariums and around the world.

Clearly, without the demand of dolphinaria, the hunt would stop for lack of profitability: a dolphin is selling $ 154 000 to a water park. The cetacean meat is, for its part, sold off at $ 3 or $ 4 per 100 grams on the stalls of some supermarkets in Taiji. It is also useful to remember that cetacean meat has contamination levels that constitute a health risk for the consumer.

* These figures do not take into account individuals who perish at sea (because they are too weak because of their age or their physical condition) when tracking the group or the process of turning to the shore. Other figures from previous hunts, see the Dolphin Project statistics.

To act :

Put an end to this barbarism is therefore relatively simple but requires the participation of all internationally: we must encourage the public not to go to dolphinarium.

Press contact:

Sandra Guyomard (President)
06.22.66.84.67
sandra@reseaucetaces.org